DuPage chairman: Budget, sheriff's audit key issues in 2016

DuPage County government is facing what county board Chairman Dan Cronin is calling “a climate of uncertainty” in 2016.

The county started its fiscal year Dec. 1 knowing the budget impasse in Springfield could result in millions of dollars of lost revenue. Exactly how much is not yet known.

“We have some big challenges,” Cronin said during a recent interview with the Daily Herald about his plans for 2016. “We have a very tumultuous state government right now. We don't know where we (as a county) stand. We don't know how much money will be coming to us for very important needs of the county.”

The county-run DuPage Convalescent Center, for example, already has lost more than 12 percent of its reimbursements because of cuts in state funding. Cronin said he's concerned more state money could be lost for the convalescent center and certain community service programs.

“We understand what's got to play out down there (in Springfield),” he said. “But at some point, we have to make sure that we're able to fulfill our mission here.”

To that end, the county board approved a $444.4 million budget for the fiscal year that Cronin says was intentionally lean.

“We think it gives us some latitude,” Cronin said. “We have some ability to be nimble. We do have some reserves. I think we came up with a very responsible budget in this climate of uncertainty.”

However, some of their budget decisions put county board members at odds with Sheriff John Zaruba, who strongly criticized a move to eliminate 10 full-time positions at the sheriff's office.

And while the budget increases the sheriff's annual spending from roughly $40.4 million to about $40.8 million, the office didn't get as much as Zaruba sought. The county board also rejected Zaruba's request to buy body cameras. In addition, DuPage won't purchase replacement squad cars in 2016.

After the budget was approved, Zaruba issued a written statement saying county residents “lost” because of the reduction of his office's full-time head count to 520 employees. He said the department's head count has been reduced by a total of 25 positions since 2014.

The latest reduction came after county board members said Zaruba didn't fully answer a list of questions about the department, including details about its Explorer program, an inventory of seized vehicles and the cost of having video cameras in squad cars.

“It was well-documented that we had a robust debate with the sheriff about his budget,” Cronin said.

Now Zaruba has offered to resolve the dispute by allowing county Auditor Bob Grogan to do an audit of the sheriff's office.

Cronin said he wants the audit to begin as soon as possible. He also wants it to be a “deep dive” into the department's expenditures and revenue sources.

“I want to see a very clear picture of what's going on there,” he said.

For example, Cronin said he wants the audit to examine the sheriff's Explorer program, which educates 14- to 20-year-olds about law enforcement. He's already requested information about the program's budget, staffing and the liability and/or risk management costs associated with its operation.

Cronin said he wants an analysis done of all contracts and agreements executed without county board action. In addition, he said, the audit should closely examine the management of vehicles seized by the sheriff's office and the department's dash-cam program.

“If the sheriff wants an audit, we're going to give him an audit,” Cronin said. “But it's going to be an audit — not some casual glance. This is going to be a microscope.”

Cronin said the county board, which was considering hiring an independent firm to do the audit, is willing to provide resources to help Grogan.

“He may need some additional resources,” Cronin said. “But I expect it (the audit) to be a deep dive. I expect it to be very thorough. And I expect that the sheriff will be 100 percent open and compliant.”

The county board also is expected to make progress with its DuPage ACT (Accountability, Consolidation and Transparency) Initiative.

That initiative, launched in 2012, initially called on two dozen local governmental entities to make structural and operational reforms. Thanks to a change in state law in 2013, the ACT initiative could result in the elimination of as many as 13 of those agencies, including fire protection, sanitary and mosquito abatement districts.

Cronin said up to three entities could be targeted for consolidation in 2016 — the Highland Hills Sanitary District, the Century Hill Street Lighting District and the North Westmont Fire Protection District.

An engineering firm was hired by the county to do an assessment of Highland Hills, which manages sanitary sewer service and water operations for more than 400 properties in Lombard. The results of that study are expected to be released soon.

Cronin said the report will help county officials determine if the sanitary district should continue operating as a stand-alone entity.

Meanwhile, the Century Hills Street Lighting District maintains streetlights in a subdivision near Naperville. The North Westmont Fire Protection District collects property taxes from the owners of 561 parcels and uses the money to pay Westmont to provide emergency response and fire services.

Cronin said consolidation is going to be part of the “new normal” for local governments.

“I do believe that a new normal will emerge out of this uncertainty from Springfield,” he said. “It will be that local governments have to figure out how to work together, how to share services and how to be more efficient because they just don't have the resources to support us like they used to.”

Issues: Up to 3 entities could be targeted for consolidation this year